Florida Teen Tried to Hire Hitman to Kill Parents, Police Say

A 17-year-old Florida girl has been arrested after she allegedly stole money from her parents' bank account and tried to hire a hitman to kill her parents, a police affidavit said.

Alyssa Michelle Hatcher, 17, of Umatilla, Florida, was arrested by deputies with the Lake County Sheriff's Office on Sept. 9 after she allegedly stole her parents' debit card and used it to make two separate transactions to withdraw around $1,500 she would use to pay for a hitman to kill her parents.

According to the affidavit, Hatcher offered money to two different individuals to carry out the murders. First, she offered $400 to one friend, and when they did not act, the teenager paid someone else another $900 to do it.

"As the investigation progressed it was learned that the suspect Alyssa Hatcher solicited two different individuals to kill her parents," sheriff’s office Sergeant Fred Jones said in a statement. "According to investigators the juvenile suspect stole her parents debit card and made two separate transactions withdrawing funds to pay the individuals to carry out the murder."

Hatcher withdrew money from the ATM to make one payment, and sent the second payment through Paypal, police said.

When investigators interviewed Hatcher's boyfriend, he told them he'd seen Hatcher at a "known drug house" where she told him about her plan to kill her parents. When detectives interviewed Hatcher, she not only admitted to paying the two individuals, but also to using some of the money she stole to purchase $100 of cocaine, the affidavit said.

Hatcher's parents were not injured by the aborted scheme and told detectives they wanted to press charges against their daughter.

"The victims, parents of juvenile defendant, advised their intent to persecute for the charge of Criminal Solicitation of Murder," police wrote.

The 17-year-old senior was charged as a juvenile with two counts of criminal solicitation for murder. Hatcher was taken into custody and taken to the Lake County Jail where she was later turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice. She could face up to 30 years to life in prison for each of the charges against her.